Wednesday, May 17, 2006

It starts tomorrow at 9pm, it will run all summer, and is set to be the biggest money-spinner for Channel 4 to date.

Channel 4 isn't saying how much it makes from Big Brother, but with a longer run and more contestants the station has probably added substantially to what it will coin in.

There will be free videoclips this year and a big deal with MSN.co.uk, which will stream highlights.

William Hill predicts the show will lead to the biggest betting spree in reality TV history, with an estimated £10m set to be waged.

Not to mention the Golden ticket that will see a member of the public chosen at random. The tickets, hidden in special KitKat bars, go on sale tomorrow with the competition finishing on June 2. Meaning a late house mate entry.

Channel 4 also seems to have gone out of its way to get an "attractive" looking bunch of wannabes, with at least two of them already tipped as potential winners.

And to make sure they get close, there are only nine beds for 12 housemates – oh there's a water bed as well.

Executive producer Sharon Powers said: "It’s up to the housemates to decide who sleeps where and ultimately who to sleep with on launch night."

Who knows what they are like, but there's been plenty that has been written. Mostly about former Miss Wales Imogen Thomas, who won her place in the final line-up after appearing on a test run of the show where she talked about sex... and then some more about sex.

A Channel 4 source said: "Imogen is wild, she flirted non-stop with the lads and girls. Every conversation ended up being about sex. She talked non-stop about the hunky models she bedded. She loves talking about sex and loves doing it too. She said she was single and looking for love.”

Apparently she is desperate to be famous and will do absolutely anything. She's already "dated" and "dumped" former Manchester United star and Jordan ex- Dwight Yorke.

Dwight was said to be besotted with Thomas, but she couldn’t quite see how he could progress her career. Either that or the fact that his current club Sydney FC is a little bit of slog to get to.

As well as Thomas, there's cross-dressing Tourette's syndrome suffering Peter Stephenson. Not only does he swear all the time, but he punches himself as well.

He is also said to be really good looking, in a band called Daddy Fantastic, and likes to whip out his manhood out with friends. That's a bit strange isn't it?

Also a bit pedantic but you missed out the 'p' from 'pm'. You put 'it starts tomorrow at 9m'. I wouldn't have mentioned it but it's on the Brand Republic home page being seen by 152,000 unique users...